Books, authors and all things bookish

At Book Expo: Michael Moore

May 25, 2011 | 2:30
pm

When you get to New York, it can be really hard to find a place to park. But the C-Span Digital Bus never has that problem -- it drives right into the Javits center and parks on the main floor, just inside the doors.

C-Span 2 is where readers can regularly find nonfiction authors being interviewed on Book TV. During Book Expo, some of those authors get in front of the bright lights right there next to the bus, just steps away from the blue carpet leading in from one of the main entrance. And there, on Wednesday, was Michael Moore.

Book Expo attendees came and went, sometimes stopping at the table to grab free Book TV book bags -- as in previous years, they're bright orange and a popular giveaway. Few noticed one of America's biggest-voiced rabble rousers, Michael Moore, speaking to the interviewer in his red baseball cap.

Here at Book Expo, authors and celebrities flock to promote their upcoming books. Jimmy Fallon this year, Barbra Streisand last, and then there was the time I saw the flying scarves of Steve Tyler ... it's a few days in which booksellers and librarians are stars, and the stars are there hoping to catch their attention. For his part, Moore, facing away from the passing crowds, didn't notice people coming and going. A few fans crowded near the C-Span table, angling their camera phones. The one person really keyed in to the proceedings was a nearby security guard. He looked nervous. He looked like he knew exactly how much Michael Moore can stir emotions -- if people realized who it was sitting a few feet behind those book bags.